Awesome. This video game me confidence in installing a thumb on my 305 myself. Thumbs are not very common here in Europe (or at least Sweden), so this was a great source of inspiration. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching! Yeah I was a little nervous to try it without any experience, but the instructions that came along with the CAT brand thumb were very straightforward! Besides the weight of the thumb and cylinder, it was pretty simple really!
@@hooterspfld Mine did not come with instructions even though it was original CAT thumb directly from the dealer, but except from mixing the hydraulic lines up in the first attempt (one have a 90 degree angle), it was fairly straight forward. There are tons of boulders on my property, packed pretty hard, so a ripper with the thumb is a good way to get them out and to pick them up. Thanks for answering.
Thank you for your nice video! You mentioned that you had to buy a longer pin (which certainly makes sense) but did you buy the pin from Cat or did it have to be an aftermarket pin since you used an aftermarket thumb? Not sure how this works. I have a Hitachi 35U mini with a PSM thumb and I need to buy a new pin and bushings as they are starting to wobble from wear. Not sure how to find the right pin & seals. Any thoughts on this that your willing to share?
Only thing I don't like is the isolation valves being right on the cylinder vs being mounted to the stick it's likely they'll get damaged being by the cylinder and if you want to remove the thumb you'll have to cap the lines off
I advice against Teflon tape on any hydraulic fittings. Furthermore never use tape on a fitting that is not tapered thread. The gasket should seal not the tape. Next advice is install all your hoses loosely and then tighten the fittings so you don't put extra twist strain on the hoses.
Do the lines need to be bled after assembly? Or will the air work itself out? Just curious... I'm about to do this install on my 305. Awesome video! Extremely helpful and reinforces this isn't a difficult install to do on your own. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words! I honestly couldn’t find an answer to this exact question prior to installing. I went ahead and installed it and after working the thumb back and forth the air worked itself out.
My aux controls have a dial on the joystick to adjust pressure. When I initially turned on my machine I let it sit with the key on for 7 minutes to allow the hydraulic pump to cycle and clear any air bubbles. Then I tested the thumb and it was closing very slowly. I just adjusted the dial until it opened and closed at an appropriate rate. Not sure if your machine has the same feature, but I just eyeballed mine.
Bro, just a word of advice. Put the channel locks away and use the right size wrenches. You are using really expensive fittings. Also make sure everything is squeaky clean before you make up those fittings. I am a mechanic. Just trying to help. Not trying to be a douche.
Hey thanks for watching the video and thanks for the advice! You're right, it was like $2300 for everything, no sense in risking damage when I already spent so much.
Awesome. This video game me confidence in installing a thumb on my 305 myself. Thumbs are not very common here in Europe (or at least Sweden), so this was a great source of inspiration. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching! Yeah I was a little nervous to try it without any experience, but the instructions that came along with the CAT brand thumb were very straightforward! Besides the weight of the thumb and cylinder, it was pretty simple really!
@@hooterspfld Mine did not come with instructions even though it was original CAT thumb directly from the dealer, but except from mixing the hydraulic lines up in the first attempt (one have a 90 degree angle), it was fairly straight forward. There are tons of boulders on my property, packed pretty hard, so a ripper with the thumb is a good way to get them out and to pick them up. Thanks for answering.
Thank you for your nice video! You mentioned that you had to buy a longer pin (which certainly makes sense) but did you buy the pin from Cat or did it have to be an aftermarket pin since you used an aftermarket thumb? Not sure how this works. I have a Hitachi 35U mini with a PSM thumb and I need to buy a new pin and bushings as they are starting to wobble from wear. Not sure how to find the right pin & seals. Any thoughts on this that your willing to share?
Only thing I don't like is the isolation valves being right on the cylinder vs being mounted to the stick it's likely they'll get damaged being by the cylinder and if you want to remove the thumb you'll have to cap the lines off
I advice against Teflon tape on any hydraulic fittings. Furthermore never use tape on a fitting that is not tapered thread. The gasket should seal not the tape. Next advice is install all your hoses loosely and then tighten the fittings so you don't put extra twist strain on the hoses.
Do the lines need to be bled after assembly? Or will the air work itself out? Just curious... I'm about to do this install on my 305. Awesome video! Extremely helpful and reinforces this isn't a difficult install to do on your own. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words! I honestly couldn’t find an answer to this exact question prior to installing. I went ahead and installed it and after working the thumb back and forth the air worked itself out.
Did you have to check/adjust the aux pressure? I just got a Gentec 824 for my 301.7D and they say to set pressure at 1800
My aux controls have a dial on the joystick to adjust pressure. When I initially turned on my machine I let it sit with the key on for 7 minutes to allow the hydraulic pump to cycle and clear any air bubbles. Then I tested the thumb and it was closing very slowly. I just adjusted the dial until it opened and closed at an appropriate rate. Not sure if your machine has the same feature, but I just eyeballed mine.
good luck with that, cat doesn't put the relief cartridges in the valve, they are almost 700 each.
@@tedkolosky5891 I'd like to know more on that. I've searched but don't get any good direction
Bro, just a word of advice. Put the channel locks away and use the right size wrenches. You are using really expensive fittings. Also make sure everything is squeaky clean before you make up those fittings. I am a mechanic. Just trying to help. Not trying to be a douche.
Hey thanks for watching the video and thanks for the advice! You're right, it was like $2300 for everything, no sense in risking damage when I already spent so much.